


Confide

by MegaWallflower



Series: Childhood Not-Friends [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Dramatic Irony, Father-Son Relationship, Heart-to-Heart, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Obliviously Unrequited Relationship, Prequel, The Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 22:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20379262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower
Summary: If Kakashi and Guy are going to be… together, Kakashi decides to let Minato know. He’s Kakashi’s commanding officer, after all. It's only natural.





	Confide

**Author's Note:**

> Back to this AU. Set about a year before Not Friends.
> 
> As a reminder, the setup is a comedic misunderstanding where Kakashi thinks he and Guy are dating, and Guy is completely oblivious to that.

“Thanks for having me,” Minato greeted Kakashi with a smile when he finally returned from the kitchen. “It’s pretty rare for you to invite me over!”

Kakashi just nodded mutely, placing the plates of food on the table, one in front of Minato, and one opposite him.

Sesame ginger salmon.

Its scent was a gentle yet familiar wisp upon the air. It must have been from Sakumo’s cookbook.

_“It feels like there’s so little I can give to my son. But this,” Sakumo had said one night, when all three of them were cooking together, “is something I can feel proud of passing on. We were always good farmers…The Hatake clan is resourceful with our resources, if little else.” _

_Sakumo had tried to make it sound like he was humbly bragging and cracking a joke, but his awkward smile gave himself away on both accounts._

_It was a little breathtaking, being in the kitchen with_ the_ White Fang, a man who Minato had only heard about in legends and songs and warnings and motivational speeches. A man said to surpass Jiraiya, Minato’s own master. A man feared and revered in every Hidden Village in the world._

_That (in)famous man was wearing a frilly, messy kitchen apron and smiling serenely at Minato’s new subordinate, who was carefully deboning a freshly caught fish. The boy’s hands were so tiny and chubby and meticulous. His dark eyes squinted and his little nose scrunched up as he disposed of the unused guts of the fish. Minato could practically imagine that the boy would be sticking out his tongue in childlike concentration, if not for the black mask that seemed permanently attached to his face._

_“We catch them together,” Sakumo continued when it was clear that Minato was too starstruck to carry the conversation himself. “It’s nice to make time to cook them together, when I’m around. Since you’ll be looking after him on missions further from the village, I thought it would be good to invite you to join us tonight first. I wanted to make sure I was leaving my son in the hands of a good commanding officer. After all, Kakashi is… well…”_

Kakashi cleared his throat, and Minato blinked out of the memory and focused on the present. He ran a hand through his messy hair and stared at the plate laid out in front of him. “Is this for me? You shouldn’t have!” He couldn’t help the smile on his face. It was rare that Kakashi invited him over for anything besides training, much less for something as mundane as eating a meal together.

Minato had missed this— missed this Hatake homemade food, missed sitting at a table in this house with Kakashi, missed the smell of filleted fish and spices and vegetables, missed the sunlight warming his skin streaming in from the window. Missed the precocious look in Kakashi’s eyes right now. He had missed all of this since Sakumo had died and Kakashi had closed his heart and started spending more time in the field, fighting for a village instead of friends.

Missed the cute way Kakashi fidgeted nervously and pretended he wasn’t trying to gauge whether or not he’d done a good job based on Minato’s reaction to the food.

Actually, no, he hadn’t missed that last part, because that last part wasn’t there before. Not quite like it was now. Kakashi’s timidity was new. He seemed… shy. That gave Minato pause.

Silence followed, air somehow a little heavier than usual. Minato took a sip of his tea, and the quiet clink of his cup returning to the table sounded almost deafening in this sort of silence. They could do nothing but take each other in, letting the ginger-tinted air settle between them.

Kakashi cleared his throat again, but didn’t offer anything in the way of starting this conversation. Well, Minato was the adult here. He would find a way until Kakashi felt comfortable enough to talk. He would hear him out. That’s what he was here for.

To break the ice, Minato made the effort to be particularly animated about his enjoyment of the food. Big, over-expressive smiles, loud swoons, contented sighs. “My compliments to the chef! He really must be a genius!”

Kakashi rested his chin in the palm of his hand and looked away, a bashful sort of happiness bleeding through, not unlike a younger Kushina. It was cute.

Being with Kakashi always made Minato want a son. He wondered how being with Minato made Kakashi feel. 

Kakashi waited silently as Minato finished his food.

Minato paused, tapping his index finger against the wooden tabletop. From the corner of his eyes, Minato noticed that Kakashi’s stare flickered over his plate, his mouth probably open and body leaning forward, as if Kakashi wanted to say more. As if there was something he had wanted to say for a while.

Minato had never actually seen Kakashi eat –it was always a slight of hand with him, there one second and gone the next. Maybe it was genjutsu or magic, or maybe Kakashi was just very dedicated to the aesthetic of his mask and scarfed the food down as quickly as possible when everyone else blinked. Either way, he’d never had a problem with clearing his plate before.

A lack of appetite usually meant his head was already full of ideas he wanted to get out. Minato cleared his throat to break the silence.

He finally folded his arms onto the table and sighed, letting out a breath Minato was unaware that he’d been holding it in. “…You are my commanding officer, so I thought this would be pertinent information for you.” Kakashi glanced at him again, then away. He picked at his food with his chopsticks, finally considering eating the now cold food.

Out of consideration, Minato closed his eyes and smiled, warmly, sincerely. “I’m all ears, then. You can tell me anything, Kakashi.”

Kakashi tapped his thumb against his plate. Aside from that tinny echo, the silence seemed to stretch on for a while. “…As of today, I’m in a romantic relationship,” he confided into the quiet Minato had left open between them.

A brief flicker of shock tried to show itself on Minato’s face, and it took every ounce of skill he had to suppress it. Not knowing what he was planning to say, he opened his mouth, but Kakashi continued before Minato could start.

“—It won’t interfere with my loyalty to the village. If I let myself be swayed by a fleeting emotion, I'd fail as a ninja. Whether that emotion is love, sympathy, or—” If it wasn’t for the content, it would almost sound like Kakashi was simply giving a dispassionate verbal mission report.

Minato opened his eyes, and Kakashi’s plate was completely cleared. He could hardly bring himself to focus on that, though. “You’re dating someone? At your a—” Minato stopped short. Reminding Kakashi how young he was never led to very constructive conversations, and he couldn’t really get into an argument with him over this. “Who is it? Rin?” He tried instead. The guess didn’t prompt any reaction from the famously poker-faced Kakashi. “…Obito?”

Kakashi stopped chewing, face pulling in a scowl. Not Rin and definitely not Obito then. “It doesn’t matter who it is, does it?” He muttered indignantly, all pretense of this being a briefing between soldier and commander vanishing.

Minato kept his smile, eyes crinkled with an understanding stare as reached over the table. Pale fingers brushed over Kakashi’s shoulder, as if to wipe away the weight of the world he always carried on his shoulders. He played it off as though dust were collecting there. “Of course, it matters. If they don’t deserve you, it’s my job as your sensei to intervene on your behalf, right?”

Kakashi didn’t flinch, and his half-lidded dark eyes just observing his teacher. “No. A sensei wouldn’t need to do that. Your job is to lead us on missions and gather up our bodies if we die in the field.”

Minato pulled back, “Of course.”

Kakashi quietly added, “…But I came to you as a father figure here, so I guess it makes sense. In that sense, I guess it _is_ your job.”

Minato’s stare dropped to the table as the word “father” rolled off Kakashi’s tongue, eyes now fixed on the dirty plate in front of him. “Kakashi… You… That’s…”

“_Anyway_,” Kakashi interrupted sharply, gathering up his dishes. “I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t be with someone who’s a threat to myself or to the village. I already know it’s someone too stupid to be a spy.”

Minato would really like to discuss how Kakashi called him a father. Father _figure_. His mind kept coming back to that. But Kakashi wanted a change in subject, so Minato went along with it. “Too stupid to be a spy, but clever enough to earn your attention, huh?”

A pause. The two of them seemed to weigh each other’s presence. What would it mean if people were to find out that Kakashi, elite son of the white fang, notoriously closed-off and straight-edge, was interested in romance? “…Permission to speak freely?” He was back to the tone of a perfect, obedient soldier.

“Always, Kakashi. We’re teammates.”

Kakashi buried his face into his hands and shook his head. All Minato could see now was the messy of silver that was Kakashi’s hair. “I didn’t feel like dealing with the headache I’d get if everyone knew about this. This is the sort of thing I’m probably supposed to talk to my father about.” The voice was muffled, but being called a father again made Minato’s heart soar. “I only came to you. I don’t know who else I’d go to for advice on something this dumb.”

“Kakashi…”

Kakashi dragged the hands down his and looked up at Minato with exhausted eyes. “Minato-sensei, I know I’m not very likeable. I don’t try to be. I don’t care about being friendly or open or inviting or doing the kind thing or the moral thing— People might want to _be_ me. I mean, sure, people might want to be as notable or esteemed, or whatever. That’s all enviable. But... wanting to be someone and actually wanting the headache of being _with_ someone is completely different. Anyone can envy popularity, or a name. I mean, it’d be dumb to try to court me for my clan name, right? Who wants to be a Hatake? I’m a good subordinate and a good shinobi, but that’s it. I’m not a good person or a nice person and I don’t try to be. But people see whatever they want to see. About everyone. For the most part. They decide it’s whatever suits them. If they want to hate someone or like someone or just pretend to do one or the other because it’s convenient that way, they’ll just make up all kinds of things to believe. It’s irritating.” Kakashi paused. Minato wondered if he was thinking about Sakumo. “You’re still stronger than me. Faster than me. More famous too. You probably get it.”

Minato pursed his lips, swirling his glass in his hand, watching the tea stir idly. Minato wasn’t as popular as Kakashi at his age, but he could follow the logic. He was popular enough that, on more than one occasion, he was asked why he’d “choose” an outsider and a jinchuriki over any of the other “normal” girls in the village. And beyond that, Kakashi knew better than anyone else how often people made up their minds about Minato based only on his age and his reputation. More than a few people had been disappointed to learn his actual personality over the years. At first, Kakashi was one of them.

“So, you found someone who you think sees past all that?” Minato said. _And is also too inept to be a sp_y, he didn’t add.

Kakashi seemed to frown. “Guy,” he finally admitted.

Minato nearly choked on his own tongue. There was no hiding his surprise this time. “Might Guy? Son of Might Duy? The boy in the green jumpsuit?”

“Oh, you’ve heard of him. That’s a shock. He’s pretty much a nobody.” It was a wry bit of humor. Guy went out of his way to talk to Kakashi a lot, all of Team Minato knew him well by now. Obito had complained many, many times about how much he wished Beast Face would leave them all alone.

“How did— Who confessed?”

“Guy,” Kakashi answered, then, giving it more thought, reluctantly added, “Mostly.” Noticing Minato’s confusion, he went on to clarify, “It was roundabout. Sort of indirect.”

That barely helped. “Guy doesn’t seem like an… indirect person.”

“Guess not,” Kakashi shrugged, glancing away in what was probably feigned boredom and genuine shyness. He waited for Minato to say… something. He wasn’t sure what. “…That’s really all you have to say?”

“What?”

“You don’t think it’s _weird_?” His voice was a soft mutter, like he was chastising himself.

The meaning behind the words sank in, and Minato offered him a reassuring smile. “Kakashi…” The jonin reached across the table and offered him his hand, palm-up.

Kakashi made a sort of sound that he hoped could pass for disinterest, but he obediently laid his hand atop Minato’s, determined to at least try to look cool and aloof. Even Kakashi couldn’t pretend not to notice the soft, careworn creases of Minato’s palm and a comfortable warmth seeping into him. Minato was like a spot of sunlight.

“Hm.” Kakashi grunted impatiently. Even so, Minato’s eyes were watching him, so patiently and calmly that Kakashi was almost certain Minato knew, knew that Kakashi relied on him for comfort as much as advice, that Kakashi trusted him to be the help he needed to holding himself up before his responsibilities. Kakashi wasn't honest enough to confess to any of that out loud.

Maybe Kakashi’s thoughts were as vivid on his face as they were in his mind, because Minato simply grinned. “You can come to me for anything and everything, I’ll never think less of you. I think of you like family, too. Like my own son.” He squeezed Kakashi’s hand, where he'd turned the fingers over against his own, pressing their hands together palm to palm. Kakashi fidgeted at the intimate pressure of it, unable to help glancing away.

But Kakashi’s expression softened and his body eased up, even as the younger ninja slipped his hand away and flexed his fingers. “…Thanks.”

“I guess if there’s anything I need to say, it’s… Do you like him back?”

“…He’s irritating,” Kakashi muttered, like a quiet reprimand. “He thinks he can be better than me. I don’t even know why he’d try; it’s not going to change how anybody looks at him. He’s obnoxious, and brash, and a headache… He’s always losing to me, and he’s too loud, he doesn’t know when to give up. On anything. Especially on me. He’s not normal at all.”

Minato nodded along as he spoke.

“He’s unabashedly, stupidly, uncompromisingly stubborn. He’s too nice. Easy to read, too. He never does what anyone expects him to. And he’s loud. He sticks out like a sore thumb, like he doesn’t even care how many people gawk at him. He’s…” Kakashi cut himself off with a grimace. “He’s _Guy_.”

“I see,” Minato said evenly. _Sounds like young love,_ he didn’t say, but he didn’t need to. Minato just smiled. He understood. “You just wanted to get it off your chest, right? Does hearing yourself say it out loud help?”

Kakashi nodded strongly, swallowing any meekness there was left. “I have a boyfriend. He’s really annoying.”

Minato eyes softened. “I’m happy for you.”

Kakashi stared at him for a moment, searched his face for traces of sarcasm or mockery. When he apparently found none, his eyes crinkled closed in a smile. “I think I’m happy, too.”

They lapsed into silence again, but this time, the atmosphere around them felt pleasant, giddy even.

“…You know,” Minato offered, “When Kushina and I started dating, it was the best day of my life! Well, except for every day I get to wake up next to her! Which makes every day we spend together now the best day of my life! It’s hard to put it into words, but it’s just a genuine, warm, fuzzy happiness I feel with her! Even when we’re in the field, having her by my side both motivates me and keeps me level-headed! And when we’re home together, I’m even happier with her! I know! Kakashi, you should take him in your arms and jump into the moonlight, it's how Kushina fell in love with me! And compliment his hair! Kushina gets so happy whenever I tell her how much I love her red hair! She calls me her man of destiny!"

Kakashi didn’t scoff at his teacher’s gushing derailment. Instead, he stared off into the distance, in the direction of the woods. Thinking about it, Minato realized, that was the direction Guy’s house was in, wasn’t it? “You love Kushina a lot.”

“—Ah, sorry,” Minato laughed awkwardly. “I was just trying to say I know how you might feel. I wasn’t trying to make it about my own relationship.”

“No. It’s useful. As a reference.”

“For how you’ll talk about Guy now?” Minato gently teased.

“I wouldn’t _ever_.” Kakashi scoffed, finally sounding like himself again. “It’s just that you seem happy with Kushina. You’re always saying how strong she makes you. If there’s a chance it’ll make me a better shinobi, I don’t see a reason not to try it. Maybe I’ll get stronger, too. And Guy’s weak. He needs a boost in strength more than I do.”

Kakashi realized with a pang of regret that that sounded cheesier than he’d wanted it to. “Besides,” he backtracked. “That’s probably the exact same way Guy will be talking about me now.”

Once again, Minato went along with the change of subject, as much as it pained him not to comment on Kakashi’s adorable theories on love and strength. “Really? Are you expecting him to tell someone? I thought you said you planned on keeping this under wraps.”

“We are. He knows how to keep his mouth shut when he has to.” His answer was blunt. “He doesn’t have a dad anymore, and Choza-sensei is still out of the village. His teammates can’t keep a secret, and I don’t even think Ebisu likes him enough to want to. The only ‘person’ he’d probably go to is one of his tortoises.”

Kakashi had put a lot of thought into this already, then. “Well…” Minato winked playfully. “There’s something about a secret relationship that makes it all the more exciting, right? Isn’t your heart fluttering a little?”

Kakashi blushed, stumbling over the gentle teasing. “Anyway,” changing the subject again, “I had one more question.”

“I’ll do my best to have an answer.”

“What am I supposed to do on a date?”

A brief laughter escaped Minato’s lips; what an adorable kid.

He had to think about the question for a minute, resisting the urge to gush about Kushina and just list off the dates they’ve had together. If he let himself get started with that, he wasn’t sure he’d ever finish. “Really, dating is whatever you want it to be. Be yourself, hang out, go somewhere you both like. Just do thing together.”

“In other words,” Kakashi responded with an unconcerned little shrug, “It’s just like a challenge. I don’t have to change anything.”

Maybe Kakashi and Guy made a perfect pair, after all.

“As long as you two are on the same page about it, anything can be a date. You'll manage,” Minato said, patting the back of Kakashi’s hand. “Someone as disciplined as you always does. Just remember, there's nothing wrong with asking for a little help.”

“I'll... try and remember that,” Kakashi answered, voice a little faint to his own ears.

“Now then…!” With a quiet “hup,” Minato rose, moving across the room and pulling up his chair to sit beside Kakashi. Apparently reaching across the table was starting to become a hassle. “As your father figure, since you’re dating now, I think I should give you ‘the talk’.”

Kakashi’s face pulled into another grimace.

* * *

“Ningame, you grew bigger again!”

The tortoise came closer, snout nudging at the ball to send it back in Guy’s direction. “Just a little more than you have,” he joked.

“I’m serious!” Guy kicked the ball back at Ningame. Not a very strenuous work-out, but it was a fun game to play with his dear summon. “You’re going to be bigger than I am soon!”

There was a rumble from Ningame’s throat as he continued to push the ball with his head. It might have been a laugh.

“But I’m growing up, too!” Guy insisted. “I think I’m improving! In all sorts of things! My strength, my endurance, my ninjutsu, even my rivalry with Kakashi!”

“Oh? That kid with the mask?”

Guy grinned. “Yeah, I bet if I keep at it, one day soon, he’ll even consider me a friend!!”

Hearing the rumbling sound again, Guy was certain it was laughter. “That’s not aiming very high,” Ningame said.

“It definitely is! This is the hardest training I do! Incremental improvement is still improvement!”

At that moment, the ball rolled past him unhindered, and Guy didn’t realize it until Ningame laughed again. “If you say so, kid. I win that one, by the way.”

Guy sighed and picked the ball back up. “Well, I can’t hope for a miracle right away. I mean, Kakashi doesn’t even _like_ me.”


End file.
